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Publication "Verhandeltes Zeremoniell" published

Böhlau Verlag has published a book by Marian Hefter entitled "Verhandeltes Zeremoniell" (Negotiated Ceremonial), which uses the archival records of the Gotha ducal court to examine the significance of ceremonial norms at imperial courts in the second half of the early modern period and how, from the perspective of the history of knowledge, these are to be understood as flexible and deliberately open forms of courtly communication.

Marian Hefter
Verhandeltes Zeremoniell: Wissen und Normen am Gothaer Fürstenhof (1640-1800)
Böhlau Verlag, 2026
Volume 55 of the series: Norm und Struktur
ISBN: 9783412534912
590 pages (hardcover)
89.00 EUR

Receptions of envoys, titles, ranks, investitures of orders – at first glance, the ceremonial acts at early modern courts give the impression of having been characterised by rigid rules and strict formalisms. Based on the archival records of the Gotha ducal court, Marian Hefter examines the significance of ceremonial norms at the courts of imperial princes in the second half of the early modern period. The necessity and the possibilities of formulating ceremonial claims are scrutinised from the perspective of the history of knowledge. It becomes clear that ceremonial communication in courtly practice rarely endeavoured to be systematically unambiguous, but was rather used flexibly and often deliberately kept open.

The author
Marian Hefter studied history, Catholic theology and Philosophy at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel and the University of Erfurt, where he received his doctorate in 2024. He is a member of the Gotha Research Centre.

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